Lip-Bu Tan, CEO OF Intel, will visit the White House on Monday for a high-stakes meeting with United States President Donald Trump, just days after the president publicly demanded his removal.
Sources told The Wall Street Journal that the discussion will be wide-ranging, with Tan expected to share details of his personal and professional history, as well as outline proposals for closer cooperation between Intel and the U.S. government.
The visit comes at a time when tensions between the White House and the semiconductor giant have escalated.
Trump’s intervention last week was unusual, even by Washington standards. On 7 August, he declared Tan “highly conflicted” because of his ties to Chinese firms, adding there was “no other solution to this problem” but his resignation.
The statement triggered issues among investors and industry analysts, given Intel’s central role in America’s semiconductor and defence supply chains.
Part of the controversy comes from earlier revelations. In April, Reuters reported that Tan had invested at least $200 million in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip companies, some allegedly linked to the Chinese military.
The disclosure fuelled security concerns, especially as Intel receives billions of dollars in federal subsidies under the CHIPS Act.
Tan’s career history has also attracted some questions. From 2008 to December 2021, he served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a chip design software firm. During that time, Cadence sold products to a Chinese military university reportedly involved in nuclear simulation research. Last month, Cadence agreed to plead guilty and pay over $140 million to settle U.S. charges related to those sales.
Since taking over Intel in March 2025, Tan has faced enormous challenges. The company reported an $18.8 billion net loss in 2024 and a $2.9 billion loss in the second quarter of 2025.
His response has been drastic, announcing 25,000 job cuts, cancelling multiple factory projects, and acknowledging that Intel was “too late” to compete in AI training chips. Tan has adopted what he calls a policy of “brutal honesty” and declared “no more blank checks” for speculative ventures.
In a statement following Trump’s remarks, Tan said he shared the president’s commitment to advancing U.S. national and economic security. Monday’s meeting will test whether that commitment is enough to secure his position, and determine if Intel can maintain its strategic standing in the U.S. chip sector at a time of growing geopolitical rivalry.
